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☆ U.S. food benefits for poor to shrink as pandemic provisions end
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Leah Douglas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives may also pursue further cuts to food assistance to shrink the U.S. deficit. “It’s going to put millions of households at risk of hunger,” said Eric Mitchell, president of the Alliance to End Hunger. The changes mean cuts of about $82 a month beginning in March for recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, said Ellen Vollinger of the Food Research & Action Center, an anti-hunger group. But in December’s spending bill fight, Congress negotiated a compromise to end them in February in exchange for a new summer food program for children. More than 76% of the current farm bill’s $428 billion price tag went to food assistance programs that serve 41 million people annually.

The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives may also pursue further cuts to food assistance to shrink the U.S. deficit. "It’s going to put millions of households at risk of hunger," said Eric Mitchell, president of the Alliance to End Hunger. The changes mean cuts of about $82 a month beginning in March for recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, said Ellen Vollinger of the Food Research & Action Center, an anti-hunger group. But in December's spending bill fight, Congress negotiated a compromise to end them in February in exchange for a new summer food program for children. More than 76% of the current farm bill's $428 billion price tag went to food assistance programs that serve 41 million people annually.

Feb 16 (Reuters) - Two U.S. lawmakers have sent letters to the country's top egg companies seeking answers for why egg prices have ballooned to record highs in recent months, according to copies of the letters seen by Reuters. The letters were sent Thursday morning to the CEOs of Cal-Maine Foods (CALM.O), Hillandale Farms, Rose Acre Farms, Daybreak Foods, and Versova Management. But a farm group recently asked federal regulators to investigate whether egg companies were price gouging. The lawmakers said the spike in prices raises concerns about anti-competitive conduct and requested information on executive compensation, profit margins, avian flu impacts, and whether companies have communicated with one another about egg prices. The lawmakers requested responses by March 1.

The country buys about 17 million tonnes of mostly GM yellow corn from the United States each year, mostly for animal feed. Mexico will still prohibit use of GM corn for human consumption, such as flour, dough, or tortilla made from the grain. About 20% of Mexican corn imports from the United States is white corn for food products. It will still move forward with its plan to ban imports of the herbicide glyphosate, with a transition period in effect until March 31, 2024. The United States had given the Mexican government until Tuesday to explain the science behind its proposed bans.

Feb 3 (Reuters) - School meals for millions of children in the United States would include less added sugar, more whole grains, and lower sodium content under new standards proposed by the Biden administration on Friday. The Biden administration committed to updating school meal nutrition standards as part of its strategy laid out at a conference on hunger last year. Under the proposed standards, by fall 2024, schools would need to offer whole grain products. The Obama administration hiked standards by requiring schools to serve fruits and vegetables every day and offer more whole grain foods. "These proposed evidence-based standards will make for a healthier school day," said FRAC president Luis Guardia in a statement.

"We believe there's a better alternative than go big or go out," Vilsack said, speaking to members of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, an advocacy group. The agency will also introduce a new grant program later this year to expand processing capacity for non-livestock commodities, he said. Farmers should be educating lawmakers about the importance of these programs as discussion of the next farm bill begins in earnest on Capitol Hill, Vilsack said. The current farm bill, which is passed every five years and funds major nutrition, subsidy, and conservation programs, expires on Sept. 30. Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

But to reach its ultimate destination - supermarket shelves - cultivated meat faces big obstacles, five executives told Reuters. California-based cultivated meat company GOOD Meat already has an application pending with the FDA, which has not been previously reported. Regulatory approval is just the first hurdle for making cultivated meat accessible to a broad swath of consumers, executives at UPSIDE, Mosa Meat, Believer Meats, and GOOD Meat told Reuters. But it will take hundreds of millions of dollars for GOOD Meat, for example, to build bioreactors of the size needed to make its meat at scale, Tetrick said. But cultivated meat companies have the advantage that they can claim their product is real meat, Tetrick said.

☆ U.S. lawmakers preparing plan to avert debt-ceiling crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Jason Lange | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Congress's rules on the debt ceiling are intended to limit growth of the nation's debt. The White House has said raising the debt ceiling should not be a negotiation. Senator Joe Manchin, have said the administration needs to engage in a debt ceiling negotiation. A 2011 standoff over the debt ceiling lead Standard & Poor's to cut the U.S.'s credit rating, a historic first. Biden is hosting Democratic congressional leaders at the White House on Tuesday.

Jan 19 (Reuters) - The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) should examine high egg prices for signs of price gouging from top egg companies, a farm group said, as Americans continue to pay more than ever for the household staple. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has pointed to a record outbreak of avian flu as a reason for the high prices. But the nation's antitrust regulator should also examine record-high profits at the top egg company, said Farm Action on Thursday in a letter to FTC chair Lina Khan. In the filing, the company pointed to decreased egg supply nationwide due to avian flu driving up prices as a reason for its record sales. The American Egg Board, an egg marketing group, said in a statement that egg prices reflect a variety of factors and that wholesale egg prices are beginning to fall.

Dec 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Thursday it will invest nearly $600 million in clean energy projects for farms and rural communities in its effort to cut the nation's emissions while increasing energy security, adding that more money for such projects would be distributed soon. The Biden administration has said funding clean energy projects in rural communities is key to increasing the nation's supply of renewable energy and for not leaving such areas behind as the United States tries to transition to a greener economy. USDA will distribute $285 million in grants and loans through its Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) for 844 projects in 46 states that will aid farmers with projects like the purchase and installation of solar arrays and implementing more energy-efficient farm equipment. The agency is also opening applications for an additional $300 million in REAP funding, $250 million of which comes from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which was passed by Congress in August and appropriated nearly $2 billion to REAP. "We know the need is out there and we know the demand is out there," he said.

☆ Top U.S. House Republican McCarthy plans special committee on China
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"We will put a stop to this and no longer allow the administration to sit back and let China do what they are doing to America." McCarthy also said he would keep his promise to oust a number of Democrats from key House committees, including Representative Adam Schiff, the chairman of the intelligence committee. He said he would also remove Representative Eric Swalwell from the intelligence committee and Representative Ilhan Omar from the foreign affairs committee. China's Embassy in Washington acknowledged the existence of volunteer-run sites in the United States, but said they were not "police stations." Reporting by Chris Gallagher and Leah Douglas; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Paul SimaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ McCarthy says he will form select committee on China if elected speaker
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - U.S. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy said on Sunday he would form a select committee on China if he is elected speaker of the House of Representatives. "China is the No.1 country when it comes to intellectual property theft. We will put a stop to this and no longer allow the administration to sit back and let China do what they are doing to America," he told Fox News in an interview. Reporting by Chris Gallagher and Leah Douglas; Editing by Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The House agriculture committee will likely be led starting in January by Glenn "GT" Thompson of Pennsylvania. The farm bill has a historical reputation of bipartisanship, so some advocates told Reuters they are warily optimistic. Passage of the 2014 farm bill was held up more than a year as conservative House Republicans tried unsuccessfully to strip the bill of nutrition programs. Every Republican member of the House agriculture committee signed a letter calling the funding “abusive and troublesome." At an August farm conference in Iowa, Thompson said if he led the agriculture committee, he would "ensure that the farm bill doesn't become a climate bill."

Nov 17 (Reuters) - Mothers and children who receive benefits from a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrition program would be able to spend more money on a wider range of groceries under proposed changes to the program introduced by USDA on Thursday. The agency had committed to updating the foods offered to WIC participants in the White House national hunger strategy released in September. The boost has increased child intake of produce, according to a report by the National WIC Association, a nonprofit. WIC serves low-income pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women, as well as infants and children up to age five. The agency will be collecting comments on the proposed changes until Feb. 21, it said in the release.

WASHINGTON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the first time cleared a meat product grown from animal cells for human consumption, the agency announced on Wednesday. "We are thrilled at FDA's announcement," said David Kay, UPSIDE's director of communications, in an email. USDA and FDA together regulate cell-cultured meat under a 2019 agreement between the two agencies. USDA will oversee the processing and labeling of cell-cultured meat products. Demand for alternatives to farmed meat has grown alongside awareness of the high greenhouse gas emissions of raising livestock.

Companies Hormel Foods Corp FollowNov 15 (Reuters) - Hormel Foods' labeling of a meat product line as "natural" despite using the same hogs and production methods as its other brands shows the U.S. meat labeling system needs reforms, said consumer advocates and documents released on Tuesday from a lawsuit the company is close to settling. “This is an endemic problem, not a Hormel problem.”Hormel said the company complies with USDA rules and guidelines for labeling and that it stands behind its Natural Choice products. "The term ‘natural’ is practically unregulated and can/will be used widely – as a result there is little to no difference between ‘natural’ meat and ‘conventional’ meat," read the slides, which were part of the document release. The presentation also advised companies to appeal to consumers' desire for wholesome products by packaging their meat in cardboard. Hormel and ALDF asked the court to dismiss the case last Thursday after agreeing to settlement terms.

A UN study last year found "negligible" correlation between household food waste and gross domestic product, indicating most countries "have room to improve." "We do have a long way to make the goal," said Jean Buzby, the food waste liaison at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The USDA, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration agreed in 2018 to tackle America's food waste together. A spokesman for New Zealand's environment ministry said the country is finalizing its baseline food waste estimate so it can establish a target. SLOWEST GAZELLEIn California, which has America's most ambitious climate policies, officials are trying to ensure food waste goes to composting, not landfills.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) was up 0.1%, following mild losses for U.S. overnight. Australian shares (.AXJO) lost 0.28%, while Japan's Nikkei stock index (.N225) was off 0.16%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index (.HSI) was flat while China's CSI300 Index (.CSI300) was down 0.3%. Some Chinese cities have begun cutting routine community testing, days after China announced an easing of some of its heavy-handed coronavirus measures. China reported 17,909 new COVID-19 infections on Nov. 14 compared with 16,203 a day earlier.

☆ Mexico not buying U.S. yellow corn as GM ban looms, Lopez Obrador says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Marianna Parraga | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The United States wanted to sell Mexico more yellow corn and Mexico declined, Lopez Obrador said in a regular news conference. "There is a market for it, but the government cannot make a purchase because we do not want GM," Lopez Obrador said, citing a lack of scientific investigation into its effects. Lopez Obrador did not specify who made the request to sell more corn, the amount of the requested sale or the time frame. Mexico is ready to halve its U.S. imports of yellow corn when the decree goes into effect and is considering direct agreements with farmers to secure non-GM yellow corn imports, the country's deputy agriculture minister said in October. Chicago Board of Trade corn futures fell on Wednesday after the news, with the benchmark December contract down 6 cents a bushel at a two-month low of $6.61-1/2 a bushel.

Indigenous leaders participate in a protest march and rally in opposition to the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines in front of the White House in Washington, U.S., March 10, 2017. That strategy was used in Nebraska during the fight against Keystone XL, said Jane Kleeb, executive director of Bold Nebraska and a founder of the Bold Alliance. Kleeb helped lead the decade-long campaign against the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have carried Canadian oil to U.S. refineries, in what became a symbol for the U.S. climate movement. But most CCS projects in the United States so far inject captured carbon into oil fields to boost oil production, and permanent underground storage of carbon is unproven. "Groups that fought (Keystone XL) are considered these radical environmental groups," he said.

WASHINGTON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - U.S. farmers in economic distress have received nearly $800 million in loan relief from the Department of Agriculture (USDA)using funds from the Inflation Reduction Act, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Deputy Secretary Jewel Bronaugh announced on Tuesday. The new law allocates $3.1 billion for USDA to make loan adjustments or payments for financially distressed farmers. The agency also cleared debt held by about 2,100 farmers who had been foreclosed on but still owed money. USDA will administer another $500 million to aid farmers with more complex financial situations, including where farmers are facing bankruptcy or foreclosure, the agency said. An earlier debt relief program in the American Rescue Plan would have allocated debt relief to farmers of color.

The pork industry has defended the size of the cages used at pig farms as humane and necessary for animal safety. A legal doctrine called the "dormant" Commerce Clause bars states from passing laws discriminating against commerce in other states. "If you're looking for an example of an unconstitutional law, this is it," said Michael Formica, chief legal strategist for the pork producers. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court's decision to throw out the lawsuit, finding no Commerce Clause violation. 'DRAMATIC EXPANSION'A ruling by the Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, favoring the pork industry would have major implications for Commerce Clause interpretation, according to some legal experts.

A flooded street is seen in downtown as Hurricane Ian makes landfall in southwestern Florida, in Fort Myers, Florida, U.S. September 28, 2022. REUTERS/Marco BelloVENICE, Fla., Sept 29 (Reuters) - A weakened but still formidable Hurricane Ian chugged across Florida toward the Atlantic seaboard on Thursday after thrashing the state's Gulf Coast with fierce winds, torrential downpours and raging surf that flooded oceanside communities. Separately, U.S. border authorities said 20 Cuban migrants were missing after their boat sank off the Florida coast as Ian neared the coast on Wednesday. Up to 30 inches (76 cm) of rain was forecast to fall on parts of central Florida, the NHC said. DeSantis said Ian had generated life-threatening storm surges - waves of wind-driven seawater rushing in along the coast - of up to 12 feet (3.7 meters) in some places.

☆ 'Where's Jackie?' Biden seeks lawmaker Walorski who died in August
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Biden thanked other conference organizers, then asked: "Jackie are you here? Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterBiden moved past the issue without any correction. After Walorski's death, the White House issued a statement from Biden that said he and his wife Jill were "shocked and saddened" by her sudden accident. Biden was “acknowledging her incredible work,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said when asked about the incident later, adding that Biden had already planned to welcome the congresswoman's family to the White House for a bill signing on Friday. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Jarrett Renshaw and Leah Douglas; Writing by Heather Timmons Editing by Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Biden says he spoke with Florida governor about Hurricane Ian
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he had spoken with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis the prior day about Hurricane Ian, adding that the federal government had met every request for help from the coastal state. Biden also warned oil companies not to use the storm as a pretext to raise gasoline prices, which spiked earlier this year under pressure from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "Do not, let me repeat, do not...use this as an excuse to raise gasoline prices or gouge the American people" Biden said, speaking at a White House event on hunger. "This small temporary storm impact on oil production provides no excuse for price increases at the pump, none," he added. Biden described the hurricane as incredibly dangerous and urged Florida residents to obey all warnings related to it.

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